Bend students win big in smartphone app competition
A team of creative students at Bend’s Sky View Middle School came up with an idea that’s won them some cash and tablets in a national competition.
Central Oregon is known for its wide variety of outdoor activities, and these students used it to their advantage in crafting their idea for a smartphone app.
The concept is all about river safety and highlighting the great spots to explore on the high desert. The students hope to take it from vision to reality.
“It was really student driven,” Sky View teacher Greg Wognild said Wednesday.
Wognild and his technology students found out earlier this month they had won best in the state for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, topping 1,200 other schools that participated in the state competition.
The group won $5,000 and tablets for their middle school.
Their app concept is to help people living in or visiting Central Oregon find great outdoor locations and river safety.
“Well, a lot of people in Central Oregon don’t take the safe routes,” student Peyton Wood said.
The app would highlight places near the lakes to camp and also let app users know if the area is safe or illegal to use for recreation.
“Our lives are really intertwined with the outdoors here, and that is what we enjoyed the most,” student Austin Brown said.
The students created a video to submit to the Verizon App Challenge. The group worked on a tight deadline and spent extra hours after school.
The students now have an opportunity to win the fan award, which would bring the school a $15,000 grant and send these students to Nashville to actually create the mobile app.
“These guys are really driven right now to get as many votes as they can get,” Wognild said.
The teacher said if the group doesn’t win the grand prize, he hopes someone will still pick up the idea and create the app for the students.
“The app still has a chance to be made, and that is what I’m hoping for, is that regardless of what happens at this point, I think their design is worthwhile,” Wognild said.
Check out the Sky View students’ You Tube video
You can also text OUTDOORSAFE1 to 22333 to vote for their idea. Tthe voting ends on Jan. 31.
